David Braben Interview

David Braben Interview for uk.games.video.playstation
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AM: Will you be supporting the Sony Playstation?
DB: Yes.
AM: What projects do you have under development, and how many.
DB: We have several, but I can't discuss them I'm afraid.
AM: Have you had the chance to delve deeply into the Playstation
hardware?
DB: That's a difficult one, the Playstation has a lot of libraries, it
has excellent hardware. It certainly drives games in a certain style.
Its graphics capabilities are superior to its mathematical ability.
AM: How do you rate Playstation software to date?
DB: Its getting a lot better. I don't go a bundle on one-on-one fighting
games, of which there are quite a lot.
AM: Are there any releases in particular that you admire?
DB: I quite like the "Die Hard Trilogy"............. and the effects in
"Alien Trilogy".
AM: What sort of effects?
DB: Well, the sounds from the films produce a good atmosphere.
AM: Yes, I love that quick firing machine gun sound!
DB: Yes.
AM: The appeal of "Elite" seems to have been, that around an excellent
shoot-em-up was a game full of choices and exploration, do you think
that open-ended style has a market with Playstation owners?
DB: [no hesitation] Oh yes.
AM [thinking on his feet] So why hasn't it happened?
DB: Its hard to get it right. There's a lot of pre-judgement out there.
Some people think, "a Playstation game *shall be* arcade", or "*shall
be* something else". When we were trying to sell "Elite" it was
rejected for being too different, it wasn't "Space Invaders" and
there wasn't a "goal". EMI rejected it.
AM: You and the Beatles? [laughs]
DB: Exactly!
AM: What's your favourite colour? Sorry, just kidding. Can you indicate
when we might see a Frontier Developments game for the Playstation?
DB: Not this year.
AM: Mid way next year?
DB: That's about right, yes.
AM: Now that you work with a team, do you still write the core routines
and code, or are you now more in the role of Director?
DB: More as a Director, but I will roll my sleeves up to do vital bits,
but not on a day to day basis.
AM: What is it that you'd like your games to offer players, that makes
them stand out?
DB: Depth and attention to detail, I suppose .......I don't know.
AM: Since you've been using home computers and consoles, over the the
years, which do you remember the most fondly?
DB: [no hesitation] The BBC.
AM: Do you still play computer games?
DB: Occasionally, mostly from a professional viewpoint, rather than to
relax. I watch the magazines for games to look out for.
AM: Which games do you play?
DB: "Duke Nukem" is a good laugh.
AM: Have you played "Resident Evil"?
DB: No I haven't yet, ........it looks interesting.
AM: Thanks very much, David.
DB: Thats okay, Angus.
End of interview